Corin Redgrave

A scion of the famous acting family, Corin Redgrave maintained the lowest profile as well as the longest periods of inactivity, compared to his more famous sisters, Vanessa and Lynn Redgrave. Neverthe...
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Sir Michael Redgrave was watched by MI5

By:
WENN.com
Feb 28, 2014

Late British actor Sir Michael Redgrave was investigated by the British secret service for 20 years, according to newly-released official files. Redgrave, who died from Parkinson's disease in 1985 aged 77, had a career spanning almost 40 years and starred in more than 50 films, including acclaimed war drama The Dam Busters.
It has now emerged that MI5 officers kept tabs on Redgrave during the height of the Cold War because they suspected him of being a Communist sympathiser.
The actor first came to the agency's attention in 1940 when he signed a Communist inspired manifesto and over the next nine years, they detailed 21 occasions in which he aroused suspicion of left-leaning views, including numerous trips to Russia.
The 105-page document on Redgrave is among a number of official files which have been released by Britain's National Archives. The file also contains notes on Redgrave's wife Rachel, who was also monitored by the spy network, as well as his actor offspring, Vanessa, Corin and Lynn.

The Taken star attended the event with Vanessa Redgrave and Joely Richardson, the mother and sister of his late wife Natasha Richardson, to pay tribute to the six-generation acting dynasty and its contribution to theatre.
The three were honoured alongside Natasha, who was killed in a skiing accident in 2009, and other late family members Corin Redgrave, Michael Redgrave, Lynn Redgrave and Rachel Kempson.
The event was also attended by stars including actress Jessica Chastain and actor Alan Cumming, who sang Mein Herr from Broadway hit Cabaret in honour of Rodgers and Hammerstein executive director Theodore S. Chapin.
All proceeds from the event went to American Theater Wings' education and outreach programs.

Richardson's sister Natasha passed away in 2009 after suffering a brain injury in a skiing accident in Canada.
The Redgrave acting dynasty was rocked again last year (10) with the death of Richardson's aunt Lynn Redgrave and uncle Corin Redgrave - the siblings of the Nip/Tuck star's mother Vanessa Redgrave.
The deaths hit the family hard, and Richardson and Redgrave have opened up about their grief in a joint interview with Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper.
When asked by the reporter if their suffering had brought them closer, Richardson replied, "We would say yes. The whole family has been brought closer together, because everyone is so deeply caring of each other, and we all took such a terrible knock."

The Oscar-winner visited the residents of Dale Farm in Basildon, Essex after learning authorities had told them to vacate the land they have lived on for years.
She even attended their court hearing in London and spoke of her disappointment after a judge threw out their case - and now Redgrave has revealed why she aligned herself with the cause.
The actress reveals a traveller came to her brother Corin's aid after he suffered a heart attack during a protest - and she wanted to honour the memory of her sibling, who died last year (10).
Redgrave tells Britain's The Guardian newspaper, "If it wasn't for a traveller giving him mouth-to-mouth (resuscitation), he would have died. As it was he had such loss of oxygen to his brain that he had extreme short-term memory loss. Forty travellers came to the Basildon hospital to pray for him.
"(I'm acting) very, very, very much so (in his memory). The Dale Farm Travellers are inseparable from him for me. It's totally personal. I wouldn't feel I could draw breath or act or anything if I didn't honour Corin and the Dale Farm Travellers.
"What was so wonderful about Corin is that he never stinted himself. He never said: 'I've got to save my energy because I've got to give five performances this week'. He'd go and stand up for beleaguered people. I'm so glad that he went to speak up for the travellers."

Tim Adler's The House of Redgrave was serialised in a U.K. daily newspaper earlier this month (May11), and the actress is far from impressed by what she read.
In the unauthorised biography, Adler claims Richardson's mother, Vanessa Redgrave, was a Marxist while her late bisexual father, Tony Richardson, was caught in bed with his father-in-law.
In an open letter published in Britain's Sunday Telegraph, she writes, "My mother did not walk in to find her father in bed with her husband. Silly as pie on one hand, highly defamatory on the other... My father's bisexuality is a foot note if anything, not a headline of what defined his great contribution to the arts.
"My mother, for the last 20 years anyway, would not call herself a Marxist but a human-rights activist. In fact she has not been a member of any political party for decades... Does a woman who lost her eldest daughter, sister and brother within a year need to be reminded of how she might have failed loved ones 30 years ago?"
Redgrave lost her daughter Natasha Richardson, in 2009 following a skiing accident, while her brother Corin and sister Lynne both died last year (10).
Richardson concludes, "As a family we are taking legal action. To newspapers and publishing houses, I urge the use of fact over fiction, freedom of the press, and responsibility at all times."

The British star was rocked by the death of her daughter, Natasha Richardson, last year (09) after a skiing accident, and the sad loss was compounded by the death of her brother Corin, who passed away in April (10), and her sister Lynn, who lost her battle with breast cancer last month (May10).
Redgrave has decided not to take on any more movie roles for the foreseeable future so she can "take stock" of her losses and dedicate her time to her other daughter, Joely Richardson.
She says, "I'm glad not to work for a while because I want to take time to think and to read and to garden and see my daughter and be with my grandchildren."

Natasha Richardson passed away in March 2009 after suffering a traumatic brain injury in a skiing accident in Canada, and the tragedy left her younger sister and their family devastated.
The Redgrave acting dynasty was rocked again this year (10) after the deaths of Richardson's aunt Lynn Redgrave and uncle Corin Redgrave - the siblings of the Nip/Tuck star's mother Vanessa.
And Richardson admits she has struggled to mourn their passing - insisting her pain has been "violent".
She tells Red magazine, "I felt as if someone had exploded a bomb inside me. This idea of grief is gentle... it's not like that, it's really violent. It's like a dinosaur has got your head in its mouth and is shaking you."

The British actress was rocked by the death of her daughter, Natasha Richardson, last year (09) after a skiing accident, and the sad loss was compounded by the death of her brother Corin, who passed away in April (10), and her sister Lynn, who lost her battle with breast cancer earlier this month (May10).
Redgrave has been trying to stay positive and remember all the happy times with her loved ones, and admits the outpouring of love from friends and fans has helped her enormously.
She tells People magazine, "I treasure every single moment I spent with them. I miss them so much. I glory in what all three gave me, and gave to so very many others as well. All three were devoted to their families and gave us, each and every one, from the youngest to the oldest, very happy times, and much to be merry about.
"(I have taken comfort in ) the letters and prayers of friends and from strangers."

The veteran British actress has faced a series of personal tragedies in recent months - her daughter Natasha Richardson died last year (09) following a skiing accident, and the grief was compounded by the tragic deaths of her brother Corin, who passed away in April (10), and her sister Lynn, who lost her battle with breast cancer earlier this month (May10).
The 73-year-old Oscar winner came to terms with her grief in front of millions of viewers on afternoon talk show The View when asked how she was coping by co-host Whoopi Goldberg.
Redgrave, eyes red and watering, revealed she is getting through the tragedies by "glorying and grieving" her loved ones.
She explained: "You know when you've lost people that you absolutely love and adore you're both glorying and you're grieving. You're grieving because you haven't got them anymore and you're glorying because you're taking in what a gift each of them was, and what they were... so that's where I am right now."

The veteran British actress was devastated when her daughter Natasha Richardson died last year (09) following a skiing accident.
The sad news was compounded when Redgrave's brother Corin passed away in April (10) and just a month later (May10) her sister Lynn lost her battle with breast cancer.
Redgrave attended a memorial service for Richardson on Monday (10May10) - the day before her daughter would have celebrated her 47th birthday - just two days after the family buried Lynn Redgrave, and the actress pulled out of her planned appearance at the Los Angeles premiere of her new movie Letters To Juliet on Tuesday (11May10) to deal with her grief.
The 73 year old gave an interview to Reuters just two days before the death of her sister, and revealed she was refusing to let her personal losses dominate her life.
She said, "I'm not the only one in the family who's (suffered the losses). I can only say this: I know how I feel and I know the rest of the family feels that we all had a very special gift in my eldest daughter and my brother. Obviously we miss them terribly but we try to keep our minds on what a gift their life and their love was."

Title

Co-starred with John Wood in the London stage revival of Pinter's "No Man's Land"

With Vanessa, co-starred in "The Cherry Orchard" at London's National Theatre

Returned to the NY stage in "Not About Nightingales"; earned a Tony Award nomination

Stage directing debut, "The Scarecrow" at Royal Court Theatre in London

Founded Moving Theater with sister Vanessa

Co-directed and starred in "The Flag"

Co-starred in "Four Weddings and a Funeral"

Cast in the thriller "Close Your Eyes"

Film acting debut as Roper in "A Man For All Seasons"

Made stage acting debut in "Lysander"

Co-starred with wife Kira Markham and sister Vanessa in the London stage production of "Song at Twilight"

Had featured role in "Honest"; film proved a disappointment in England and was pulled after less than a week's run in theaters

TV-movie debut, "David Copperfield" (NBC)

Had featured role in the British miniseries "Ultraviolet" (aired in the US on the Sci-Fi Channel in 2000)

Made NY stage debut in "Chips With Everything"

Appeared in the British TV drama, "The Girl in the Café"; directed by Richard Curtis and starred Bill Nighy and Kelly Macdonald

Headlined the production of a lost Tennessee Williams' play "Not About Nightingales" which premiered in London

Summary

A scion of the famous acting family, Corin Redgrave maintained the lowest profile as well as the longest periods of inactivity, compared to his more famous sisters, Vanessa and Lynn Redgrave. Nevertheless, he amassed a respectable list of stage credits as well as numerous key supporting roles in British features. Redgrave's first professional stage work was as director of "The Scarecrow" at the Royal Court Theatre in London, and by the next year, he portrayed Lysander in the Royal Court's production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream." By 1963, he had crossed the Atlantic to appear on Broadway in a supporting part in "Chips with Everything." Redgrave's feature film work began with a turn as Roper in Fred Zinnemann's "A Man for All Seasons" in 1966. Many of his other film roles were in decidedly British works, such as the remake of "The Charge of the Light Brigade" (1968), directed by then brother-in-law Tony Richardson, and Sir Richard Attenborough's heralded "Oh, What a Lovely War" (1969).<p>After many years spent concentrating on politics in his native land, Redgrave turned his attentions back to acting. He was the nemesis Robert Dixon in "In the Name of the Father" (1993) and Hamish, whom Andie MacDowell marries, in "Four Weddings and a Funeral" (1994). Redgrave's television appearances were mostly sporadic, most notably as Steerforth in the telefilm "David Copperfield" (NBC, 1970) and Octavius in "Antony and Cleopatra" (BBC, 1975). In 1994, Redgrave joined his sister Vanessa in founding the Moving Theatre Company, a passion in his life. Redgrave died in London at the age of 70, followed in quick succession by his youngest sibling, Lynn, who passed away from breast cancer less than a month after her brother, leaving Vanessa the sole surviving child of famed English actors Sir Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson.

Name

Role

Comments

Kelly Clark

Niece

Born in 1970; daughter of Lynn Redgrave and John Clark

Rachel Kempson

Mother

Kika Markham

Wife

Together since c. 1977; married c. 1985; mother of Redgrave's two youngest children

Deirdre Redgrave

Wife

Divorced in 1980; died of cancer in 1997; mother of Redgrave's two oldest children